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Industrial Engineering's Lynch receives Air Force fellowship

By Stefanie Tomlinson

June 26, 2014

Industrial Engineering's Lynch receives Air Force fellowship

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Paul C. Lynch, lecturer and academic adviser in Penn State's Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, has been selected to participate in the U.S. Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program.

The program offers hands-on exposure to Air Force research challenges through eight- to 12-week residencies at participating Air Force facilities for full-time science, mathematics and engineering faculty in the U.S.

Lynch will spend eight weeks at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida working with his research adviser Nydeia Wright Bolden, assistant chief scientist with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate, Aerodynamics Sciences Branch, on a proposal titled, "Modeling and Characterization of Advanced Materials for the Enhancement and Survivability of High Velocity Penetrators."

He said, "Our ultimate goal is to develop the next generation of cost-effective alloys for Air Force penetrator applications. The low alloy systems we are working with cost only a fraction of their high alloy counterparts, and robust supply chains are already in place for the production of these materials and components."

Lynch added that the cost savings to the Air Force could be substantial.

He has worked with both the U.S. Army Research Lab and the AFRL on research projects. He stated, "Our collaboration this summer should open new doors to innovative research opportunities for Penn State with the United States Air Force."